The Infinidex - Part 7

*************

Distant voices drift into focus.

"How long will she have to be sedated?"

"As long as it takes to find a cure for her"

"What if you never do?"

"Then she might have to stay this way all her life"

"You can't keep her sleeping forever! ... What difference is that from killing her? Just let me talk to her!"

"Stop kidding yourself! You know that won't work. How long have you been doing that? A year? And the result? She's back here again, worse then ever"

"At least she is herself some of the time"

"And when was the last time that happened?"

"... three months ago"

"There you have it, the period of her dementia has been getting longer. That only proves you should have listened to us and let her get treated here"

"A whole world of good that's doing her! At least she can still be happy dreaming her life away when she's awake. Now she can't even dream with that drug you're giving her."

"Would you rather have her confined to an asylum then ... as you said it yourself, what would be the difference?"

The voices are again enveloped in darkness again.

*************

Ben sigh and shift his gaze to the view outside the window. A gentle breeze is blowing, and the street and buildings outside are cast in a shade of crimson, reflecting the red-gold leaves of the trees lined neatly along the pavement. In the field across the road, a few boisterous children are playing football, laughing as they tackle each other and fall onto the dewy grass all muddied up.
It is a beautiful day, but his is brewing up a thunderstorm.

Just then the sound of a cart being pushed is heard from the corridor. It turns into the room and stops.

"Hi Ben, time for her medication." The nurse says.

Ben stands to the side as the nurse goes about attaching the new drip. She lifts the drip-bag off the cart and struggles to hang it on the metal stand.

"That bag looks awfully big" Ben remarks absently.

"Oh yeah and it weighs a ton" reply the nurse, as she keeps missing the hook due to her shaking hands.

"Let me help you with it" Ben says after realizing who it is doing the drip change.

"Oh no no, this is my job, you aren't stealing it from me" replies the nurse as she tries to stop Ben who is reaching out for the bag.

"Hey, don't worry about it Mary" Ben says as he makes a grab for the bag. He has been going in and out of the hospital for a week, and got to know all the nurses attending to Hazel. This one is Mary, a blonde with a penchant for doing and saying things wildly out of turn with her petite and usually demure appearance. This has gotten her into trouble quite frequently and she now ranked first on the headache list of the head nurse.

"You, just stay out of the way" Mary huffs as she pull the bag away from Ben. Ben tries to make a second grab for the bag and she pulls it back so fast it flies from her hands and right out of the window. A loud smacking sound is heard from the street below. Mary and Ben rush to the window and looks down. The bag had fallen onto the sidewalk and exploded in a shower of clear liquid. A few passer-bys, apparently shocked by the liquid bomb that fell from sky are frantically scanning the area for the culprit. Mary quickly pulls Ben down, then gets up to take another peek before stooping down again.

"Good, nobody saw us. Let's keep it that way." Mary says while adjusting her glasses.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have interfered." Ben says sheepishly.

"Don't worry about it, there is no escaping the curse that is Mary Ravenloft." Mary says nonchalantly. "Just put up your right hand".

"Like this?" Ben asks as he raise a hand into the air.

"Ben Calamange, you are hereby sworn to secrecy about the disappearing drip-bag." Mary says solemnly. "If this incident is leaked to a third person, may you suffer from multiple prolapsed hemorrhoids and not be able to take a dump for a month, which will then require a bowel excavation that is so bad you'll be screaming like a little girl. Say Ee Ne Me Ne Mi Ne Mo".

"Er ... Ee Ne Me Ne Mi Ne Mo." Ben replies, unsure of whether it is safe for his intestines to have made such a vow.

"Very good." Mary says and nod in satisfaction. "Right then, I'll go get another bag. This time, don't help." She gives Ben a pat on his shoulders before slinking out of the room, trying to get another drip covertly.

Ben moves away from the window and slumps back onto the chair. He sighs again and returns to his watch over the figure lying on the bed. His gaze fills with anguish and yet is full of hope, hope that Hazel will one day have the peace that she can only have when asleep nowadays. He strokes her silky hair and listens to her soft rhythmic breathing.

If this moment could be frozen forever, then I could at least have her like this, peaceful and not having a care in the world, if .. if she never returns to normal .. Ben thinks, then immediately shakes himself out of this dark thinking. He clasps her hand in both of his and gently kissed it, tears rolling down his eyes.

"You're so beautiful and crazy, and I'm hopelessly in love with you." Ben whispers through his tears. "Which is why, Hazel, you have to come back, you have to come back to me."

*************

"No! Don't go! Why am I being hunted?!" Hazel screams as she fly awake, disoriented for the umpteenth time. She finds herself in a white-washed room, a stark contrast to the darkness of the place where the “council” took place.

"No!! Not another room!" She moans, her eyes wild with despair.

A pair of hands grab her by the shoulders and shakes her hard.

"It's ok Hazel! This is the hospital. You're safe now!"

"NO! NO! you're lying this is another room, it's always a room. Let me out of here! I need to get to the waterfall!" She screams and struggles against the vice like grip.

"Hazel ! Look .. Hazel ! Look at me ! It's me, Ben!".

She continues struggling and screaming at the top of her voice. Suddenly, the grip on her shoulders disappear, and instead a pair of warm hands cup her face and turns her towards a familiar face. A face framed by huge locks of hair.

For a stunned moment, she stares at the face, then slowly says "Ben? Who's Ben? You're not Ben, you .. you're Locks."

"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!" She lets out a particularly long and piercing scream. Ben quickly claps his hands over his ears, grimacing in pain.

"Stop .. stop screaming, for the love of my ears, please stop!" Ben shouts to be heard.

Hazel continues screaming like it is the end of the world. She doesn't care anymore, she doesn't want to listen anymore because when she falls asleep or unconscious, it will all happen over again anyway. Ben looks around furtively, then runs over to the door, and closes it. He immediately runs back and tries to clamp his hand over Hazel's mouth saying, "Be quiet! Please! You're disturbing the other patients".

"Get away from me you monster! Get away from me! Ahhhhhhh!" Hazel screams, and claws at him with all the fury she can muster. She feels her nails scraping against soft flesh.

"Arghhh!" Ben cries out and backs away. Five red lines appear on his face, and soon start dripping down his face. The sight of blood on Ben's face shocks Hazel out of her hysteria, and fear, fear of what he will do to her next, instead takes hold of her.

"Oh .. I'm sorry .. I'm sorry, please don't hurt me, please.." She whimpers, as she draws herself into the corner of the bed.

"Hurt you? I could never hurt you. I'd rather die .. and ..you know that, at least you did, once." Ben says in a broken voice. He wipes the blood from his face, but more just come pouring forth. He walks over and sits by the bed. Hazel shrinks as far into the corner of the bed as she can, all the while making a strange gurgling sound. Ben put out his hand and touches Hazel's face. She stiffens, and stops moving. He caresses her face, plastering it with the blood on his hands. Hazel holds her breath and looks at him with pleading eyes, pleading him to stop toying with her. His hands then moves to the tender of her neck, making them tingle.

That's it. He's going to slash open my neck with those claws of his, and it'll be all over. Hazel thinks and closes her eyes, preparing for the inevitable.

"Hazel, listen to me. There is no waterfall. That night, you escaped from you room and somehow found the key to the derelict storehouse at the back of the cafe." Ben says.

He better do it cleanly, or else I hope he gets the blood all over himself. Hazel thinks.

"You opened it and went in, but in the darkness, you didn't notice the stairway had missing steps. You fell through one of the holes and knocked yourself out.".

He better sever my spine at the same time and spare me all the pain. Hasn't he tortured me enough? Hazel continues with thoughts of her impending doom.

"Good thing I followed you and immediately brought you to the hospital, which is where you are now"

Hope it won't take long for me to die too. I don't want to still be struggling for breath an hour from now. That would make me look so ugly. Hazel continues thinking, but it is getting harder as she starts to feel the strain of holding her breath.

"The doctors feared you would harm yourself again, so they sedated you the whole time you were here, while they worked on finding a cure for you."

Man, why are you so long winded! Hazel thinks as her lungs feel like they are on fire.

"Hazel ... Hazel why are you turning purple?"

"Hearrrrrrrr" Hazel gasp as she takes in a deep breath. Startled by her sudden reaction, Ben lets go of her.

"Oh just kill me already! Or I'll do it myself!" Hazel shouts, frustrated that Locks still hasn't killed her yet, even though she was already mentally prepared.

"Kill you? Why would I want to do that?" Ben asks incredulously. "Are you still thinking I'm this Locks person? That was just me playing along with you"

"Don't lie to me! What about the cottage, the room with the .. the talking table and shelves of empty books?" Hazel asks, furious that Locks is still trying to play with her mind.

"The “cottage” you're talking about would be the cafe I'm managing, and the room would be your room on the second floor of the cafe." Ben replies calmly even though he is delighted that Hazel is finally speaking to him. "The books on the shelves were blank because books were the cause of your illness in the first place. I had to placate you by placing empty books in the shelves. In the throes of your sickness you were quite adept at pretending they contained all the stories you loved."

"What about the talking table?" Hazel demands.

"That would be a figment of your imagination, just like the waterfall. It is just a normal mahogany table." Ben says.

"But I walked on water! If everything you purport I imagined had a real life counterpart, then what about the lake?" Hazel asks, determined to expose the lies he is telling her.

"That would be the pond in front of the storehouse. It is very shallow and you can definitely walk across it." Ben replies.

"The grandfather clock?"

"Part of the furniture in your room"

"The mirror?"

"As real as the sweet girl it reflects"

"The picture?"

"A portrait of a scene from your favourite book"

"The star-ball?"

"That .. That was my gift to you a long time ago .."

"The sinister serpentine candle-holder?"

"That would be ... wait there is no such thing."

"Ah ha! Liar! Can't cook up any more stories can you?" Hazel says, happy she finally got Locks tongue-tied for an answer.

"Why would I lie to you? What good would that do me?" Ben asks.

"That's because .. because ... " Hazel stammers as she tries to come up with a reason. "... you want to keep me as your slave forever." She says remembering how Locks had asked her to be his assistant.

"I do want to keep you by my side forever, but not as a slave. Never as a slave" Ben says softly.

"Then for what reason?" presses Hazel.

" 'cause I'm in love" Ben says softly.

"With whom?" Hazel asks.

"You" Ben says looking forlornly into her eyes.

"Ewwwww, you're so old!" Hazel says horrified at the thought.

"Old? What are you talking about?" Ben says and instinctively touched his face and hair.

"Get away from me you pedophile!" Hazel shouts and immediately shrinks back to the corner of the bed.

"Wa .. What, loving you makes me a pedophile? Oh, sure our age is not that close, but still.." Ben says alarmed at what Hazel just said.

"Not that close? For goodness sake you're an old man, old enough to be my grandfather" Hazel says.

"What? Are you still delusional? Look at me carefully, I'm Ben, don't you remember? Ben and I'm only 26." He says vehemently, once again grabbing Hazel by the shoulders.

"NO! You're lying! You're Locks and you look 62!" Hazel shouts back.

"Wake up Hazel, wake up please. Why can't I get through to you?" Ben says, tears rolling in his eyes.

"So my name has gone from Missy to Hazel is it? You liar, you can't mess with my mind anymore, I won't let you. Now let go of me!" Hazel screams, and starts kicking him.

"Like I said I was just playing along with you when I called you Missy, that's all." Ben says, trying to both hold Hazel still and protect himself from being kicked.

"Liar, Liar, pants on fire!" Hazel shouts the more loudly.

In desperation, Ben suddenly remembers something. "Forever Love!" He says as he gripped Hazel tightly "Don't you remember that?" For a moment, Hazel stops her struggling and images of a young man playing on a piano and a girl sitting back to back with him flashes by in her mind.

"That's your favorite tune. I used to play it to you almost everyday." Ben says, seeing he was getting a reaction.

"Wait I'll play it for you" He says and looks frantically around. "Oh shoot, there is no piano." Ben exclaims remembering this is a hospital. Letting go of Hazel, he paces to and fro about the room trying to think of a solution.

"I'll sing it to you then" Ben suddenly says, and pulling up a chair, sits besides Hazel. He takes her hands in his, and surprisingly, Hazel doesn't feel the urge to pull away. Somehow he has created a sense of anticipation that got to her in spite of all the misgivings she has. Ben closes his eyes.

*************

Alright! The coast is clear. Mary thinks to herself as she peeks out from the corner of the hallway leading from the patient wards to the nurse station. Beatrix the matron nurse is no where in sight. She adjusts her glasses, flattens her skirt and walks towards the medical supply room situated across the nurse station.

"How's Hazel?" asks Karen who walks pass.

"She's looking good, but you know she still has to be sedated." replies Mary, feigning a tinge of sympathy in her voice.

"Yah, it's to be expected. Mental illnesses have to be battled on the long term" Karen replies. "Well I better be on my way. Don't be late for the meeting it'll be starting in ten minutes time" Karen says and goes on her way.

"I won't" calls Mary after her. She waits until Karen disappears around the corner, then quickly goes over to the supply room and closes it's door softly behind her. Mary rummages through the shelves, looking for another bottle of sedative. She finds it and with a speed that surprise even herself, filled up an empty drip bag with it. She opens the door and looks around again. No one was in sight. Mary glances at her watch. It is now half past five. The nurses meeting had already started.

One crisis at a time. Mary thinks, and quickly runs towards Hazel's room.

I'll just have to pretend I had an upset stomach and couldn't make it for the meeting. Mary thinks as she runs along and at the same time tries to come up with a strategy to worm her way out of this predicament.

"Hey! Mary! Wait up!" says a voice from the distant.

Mary jumps and nearly dropps the bag. "No ! It wasn't my fault! I swear! There was this man in black and he ..." She spouts.

"Mary, if you're heading to Hazel's room, could you help me put this together with her other stuff?" says a puzzled voice that now emanated from behind her.

Mary turns around and sees it is the orderly who is in charge of the washing and changing of clothes.

"It's you Alex! You nearly scared the crap out of me!" Mary cries out in relief.

"So are you going to Hazel's room?" asks Alex.

"Er, yes. What's it you want me to put in her room?" Mary quickly asks, happy to oblige with anything the orderly wanted her to do.

"Here, the clothes Hazel came in with. It's been cleaned but somehow it was missed and never returned to her, that is until I found it among the latest batch of washings." Alex says and shoves a stack of neatly folded clothings onto Mary's arms. On top of the stack is a ball with a golden star in it.

"Now what's this?" asks Mary as she looks at the ball.

"No idea. It was found among her clothings." Alex replies with a shrug of his shoulders.

"I'll leave these with you then" He says and walks off mumbling to himself "Heh, man in black indeed. She must be in trouble again."

Mary finds it hard to balance the ball and walk at the same time, so she puts it in her pocket. She looks at her watch again. The meeting will be over in another twenty minutes time. She had to be in the toilet before that time, otherwise her ruse wouldn't work. She picks up her speed. As she rounds the corner, she stops. A man dressed in a black suit and black coat, with jet black hair that is slickly swept back and holding a bunch of roses is walking down the corridor. The shadows seem to gather around him, making it look like he is trailing a pool of ink. He looks into each room as he goes along as if searching for someone. Mary blinks her eyes. The man is still there.

"Sir, how may I help you? The visiting hours are over for today" Mary says after she gets over her initial shock.

"They are? What a pity, I was hoping to see my niece who is quite sick you see. You are sure you can't let me stay for just a few minutes and, at least say hello?" The man asks in a strangely flat voice.

"Well if it's that important, I'm sure we can bend the rules a bit. What's the name of your niece?" says Mary empathizing with the poor man.

"That would be Missy .. erm ... Missy Serpico" says the man in black.
"Missy Serpico? ... hmmm sorry, I don't seem to recall such a person. Maybe you can check with the reception counter downstairs" Mary says thinking it weird for anyone to be called Missy.

"Well, I think I'll do just that, thank you for your help and for making an exception in my case" says the man and tips an imaginary hat at Mary.

"No problem. Have yourself a good day." replies Mary with a smile, and quickly walks off as she hears shouting coming from the direction of Hazel's room.

*************

"Julie, how's dear Mr Patterson reacting to the new medication?" asks Beatrix, as she looks at the tall and skinny nurse, who stands almost a head above the other nurses gathered around the meeting table.

"His appetite has improved a lot but recently he has been complaining of constipation." Julie replies.

"Oh that poor man. Please check with Dr Brown whether the dosage should be reduced" Beatrix says with genuine concern in her voice.

"Yes Ma'am" Julie says and makes a note of it in Mr Patterson's records.

"Next up, Mary, have you charted Hazel's sedation time to dosage level?" asks Beatrix.

Silence.

"Mary?" Beatrix looks up and takes off her pince-nez.

A murmur runs through the nurses as they look at each other.

"What is she up to this time?" Beatrix says wearily as she starts rubbing her temple.

"I'll go look for her. I just saw her at the station a while ago." Karen says helpfully.

"You're a right dear. You do that, and we'll continue with the meeting" says Beatrix as she smiles warmly at Karen.

Before Karen reaches the door, the light starts to flicker. Everyone turns to look at the sole fluorescent lamp. As if sensing the many eyes on it, it stops flickering. Karen pulls her sweater closer together as she feels a sudden chill coming from the hallway. She continues walking towards the doorway.

Bang. The door slams shut. Karen turns the knob and pushes, but the door does not budge.

"The door won't open" She says. Some of the other nurses come over to help but the door seems stuck fast.

"Can anyone hear me outside? The door's stuck. Can you help us? Anyone out there?" Karen shouts through the door. The other nurses join Karen in shouting for help. From the outside, their voices are almost completely muffled. Suddenly the light shining through the slit under the door goes out. Screams and sounds of running and banging are heard. Following that, there is complete silence.

Dzzz. The light goes on again and the door opens.

*************

"Alex, switch on another light will ya?" shouts Toby as he lay crossed legged on a bed of clothings, reading the latest Harry Potter book.

Chaga, Chaga, goes the row of washing machines, as they slowly churn through the soiled beddings and stained hospital pajamas.

"They're all turned on" came the reply from within a washing machine. Alex had crawled halfway into it and is pulling clothings out.

"Really? Then why is it so dark?" questions Toby as he throws down the book and sits up.

"You must be going blind then" replies Alex "Haven't your mama told you never to read with a book less than a feet from your face?"

"Yah, my mama told me she was from outer space too, the other day I when I visited her." retorts Toby. He squints and looks around the room. "But you know what, you might be right, seems like there's a pair of invisible sunglass blocking out the light. Everything's a notch darker than usual. This isn't natural" Toby says.

"Might be something wrong with the mains." Alex says as he begins to back out of the washing machine. Suddenly the washing machine turns itself on, and Alex starts twirling along with the remaining washing.

"Switch off the damn thing!" He screams, as he lifted his legs every time the washing machine is turning up, so he would turn along and not get entangled with all the cloth.

"Holy ..." Toby says as he rushes over. Before he could reach the machine, Alex is suddenly sucked head, feet and all into the washing cavity and the door slams shut.

Toby furiously taps the off button, but the washing machine doesn't stop.

"Ohhh rightttt, how 'bout this then?" Toby says as he reaches behind the machine and pulls the plug.

Chuga, Chuga, goes the washing machine, as Toby stares in disbelief, holding the pulled plug in his hand.

"You should worry about yourself" came a voice from the back.

Toby turns around and sees that it's Karen.

"There is no escaping the darkness" says Karen with a grin that stretched from ear to ear.

*************

"What's with all the commotion!" says Mary as she bursts into the room.

She sees the awoken Hazel. "Oh no, I'm dead, she woke up ..." Mary mouths silently and drops Hazel's clothes, "... Bea will have my skin for this". She is feeling a little faint.
Just then, Ben draws in a deep breath and starts to sing.

『もう独で歩けない
代の風が強ぎて
Ah 傷つくこと何て
れたはずだけど今は
Ah このまま抱きしめて
ぬれたままの心を
わり続けるこの時代に
われない愛があるなら　　　
Will you hold my heart
受けとめて
もう壞れそうなAll my heart
Forever love 　Forever dream
溢れる想いだけが』

Both Hazel and Mary stares at Ben with eyes wide open.

"What are you singing?" Hazel asks.

"Dear lord, Ben's gone off his rocker too!" exclaims Mary and gripped the new drip-bag so tightly she punctures the bag. Liquid begins squirting out.

"Focus on the tune" Ben says and quickly returns to his singing.

『激しく切なく時閒を埋め尽くす
Oh tell me why Oh
All I see
is blue in my heart
Will you stay with me
が過ぎ去るまで
また溢れだす All my tears』

"I know, what this is ..." Hazel says, slowly realizing what he is singing.

"It's all my fault, now we have two mad persons on the loose!" Mary cries and sinks down to the floor in despair, still holding the leaking bag.

Ben nods excitedly at Hazel, and grasps her hands tighter, tears of joy flowing from his eyes. He smiled as he sang.
　　
『Forever love 　Forever dream
このままそばにいて
夜明に震える
心を抱きしめて
Oh stay with me Oh』

"It's the unknown language I saw crafted into the door of the cottage!" Hazel exclaims.

"What!?" Ben says, the smile wiped clean off his face. "No! It's Japanese, and some parts are in English too!" He says. Exasperation once more fills his voice.

"You're lying! Psychopath! Pervert! Let go of me and get out!" Hazel shouts and begins to attack Ben with all her might.

"Ok I'll go, I'll go, don't get so worked up." says Ben as he reluctantly lets himself be pushed out of the room by Hazel.

"You get out too!" cries Hazel as she grabs the inconsolable Mary "Get out all out you!" She shouts and pushes Mary and Ben out of the room, locking the door after them.

Ben slumps against the wall, all his energy spent. It was futile, just like the doctor said.

No! I can't give up! Not now! Ben thinks, though he feels his insides being shredded to pieces.

"Mary, is there a piano in this hospital?" asks Ben. Mary is still mumbling to herself on the floor and adjusting her glasses which had slipped when she was pushed out. The drip-bag is no where to be seen.

"Mary! We got to get ourselves together! Do you know if there is a piano here?" repeats Ben, as he picks up Mary and shakes her like a rag doll.

"Ye.. Yes, there is one in the classroom on the third floor" says Mary as she is shaken out of her self-pitying and her glasses are flung off again.

"Which classroom is that?" Ben inquires.

"There is only one there. You can't miss it." replies Mary.

Ben lets go of her and runs off. Mary flops to the ground again.

"What do I do? What can I do?" shouts Mary after the receding Ben.

"Get someone to open the door and keep her down. Otherwise she might try to escape or do something worse." shouts Ben back as he pushes open the door to the stairwell and runs up to the third floor.

Mary picks up her glasses and rushes to look for help, determined not to let her imminent sacking turn into a court case. None of them notice the darkness that had befallen the hospital.

*************

Hazel sits on the floor, back against the door, staring out of the window. Her mind is a complete blank. After trying to piece together the events that had transpired since she woke up on the cottage floor, she just got more confused. What is real and what isn't? Is locks lying or telling the truth? Did it all matter?

Maybe I'm dead, and this is my personal hell. Hazel thinks. like people punished for the sin of gluttony are doomed to forever repeat the experience of seeing the most delicious food to be found anywhere, but not be able to eat it, because their mouths have been taken away.

With that, Hazel is finally able to find a reason for all that has happened, and she just lets her mind wander off.

On the other hand, Mary had run off to the staff room to look for Alex. He would usually be there drinking coffee with his friend Toby whenever he had time off from his work. There was no one there.

The laundry room! Mary thinks as she races down to the basement. However except for the rumble of the washing machines, there is not a soul there too.

Oh well, I guess I'll just have to inform Bea then. thinks Mary bitterly. Apprehension at the punishment Beatrix would lay on her having stalled her from getting the nurses help until now.

Bump. Mary stops in her tracks. Bump. Bump. She turns and looks at the washing machines. The sound is coming from one of them. She walks cautiously over to the first one on the right. Nope, not this one. She moves to the second, the third and finally stops at the machine in the middle. Chuga, Bump, Chuga, Bump. She gingerly reaches out for the off button and presses it. The machine dies down.

The shadows shifts and pools behind Mary, rising up in a bubbling black fountain to form into a humanoid shape. It is Toby.

Mary pops open the washing machines door and Alex's head lolls out, white foam simmering at his mouth.

"Holy cowbells! Alex! What happened? How did you do this to yourself?" Mary asks incredulously as she tries to pull him out of the washing machine. However Alex is too heavy and she only got half of him out before falling on her bottom "Oufff". She cried as Hazel's ball drops out of her pocket. Mary checks Alex's pulse. Good, he hasn't kicked the bucket yet.

Toby advances towards Mary, opening his mouth so wide it splits his face in two. Multiple rows of pointed teeth pops out.

"Wake up! Can you hear me Alex? What the hell happened here?" shouts Mary as she slaps Alex on his face, sending white foam flying all over the place.

"Bleh, Bleh, Bleh ..." came the response as Mary continues slapping Alex left and right even though he is beginning to come around.

Toby's mouth continues widening until it looks like someone had stuck a barrel of beer in it. His face is now all mouth. With a hiss, he jumps at Mary.

The star-ball glows a bright white, and a blinding light explodes forth before the leaping Toby.

*************

A covered grand piano greets Ben when he walks into the classroom. He rips off the cover in one sweep, sending layers of ancient dust into the air. This piano is ivory white, yang to the ying of the ebony grand at the cafe. Ben runs his fingers across the key cover and then flips it open. He presses a key. A solid note resounds through the room. He plays a few more notes and is glad to discover the piano is still in tune.

He sits down and empties his mind of everything except for the memories of Hazel in happier times. Immediately a flood of emotions happy, sad, and bittersweet comes over him, and he begins playing “Forever Love” as he had never played it before.

Hazel hear this and remember who you really are! Ben thinks, as he pours his battered and bleeding yet still beating heart into the song, all the while willing Hazel to hear it, hear it and come to her senses.

Hazel hear this and once again be mine!

*************

A soulful tune reaches Hazel's ear and something clicks within her. A great sense of nostalgia is dredged up from deep within. It bespoke of a time gone by, a time spent in many happy hours listening to each others stories in winter, helping each other serve the customers as they lunched out in the cool autumn breeze, chasing after “faeries” in the woody green of spring and tinkering on the piano as the warm summer sun reflected prettily off the lacquered keys.

But who is the other person?

The image of a young man playing on the piano flashes once more across Hazel's mind. But like a photograph taken out of focus, his face could not be seen.

Hazel stands up and presses her ears against the door, straining to hear the wafting melody.
The image of the young man starts to become clearer and clearer until he looks just like Locks.

Locks? No that isn't it. The image begins to tremble as the music reaches a climax, and then like a mirror, the face shatters into a million shards, revealing a handsome young man with a crooked smile and golden eyes.

Ben. Hazel thinks and suddenly she falls to the ground clutching her head as memories of her

real life came out in a flood from the deep recesses of her mind.

"Arrgggghhhh" She cries out in pain, yet she doesn't want them to stop.
She finally knows who she is. She finally remembers her life.

"Ben!" She cries. Remorse and anguish pierce her heart as she recalls how she had treated him. She gets up, unlocks the door and pulls it open.

"Errararrrrrrrr". A hideous roar issues forth from a pair of jaws blocking the doorway. Hazel jumps back and lands on the floor, just as the jaws clamp down with a sickening clash.

Hazel stares in horror at the the monstrosity in front of her. They have no face, just a huge mouth where the head should be, but from the chest down they are dressed in the nurses' uniform and look completely human. However, before Hazel can react to the bizarre sight, what looks like a pair of black spear punctures the two creatures from behind, the point of the spears protruding from the monsters mouth.

"Eeeeeeeee". The monsters emit a high pitched scream as their bodies crumble into a black dust that is absorbed into the open mouth of a man all dressed in black and standing just behind where the creatures stood. The spears are actually wriggly tentacles that seem to originate from his black coat.

"Tsk, Tsk, Dark Homunculus', is there nothing more powerful? Well their loss, my gain." The man says as he walks over to Hazel. The tentacular appendages have disappeared back into his clothes. He kneels down on one knee in front of Hazel and leans forward with a hand on the other.

"Come with me. The darkness have taken over this place. You are no longer safe." He says, his steely green eyes fixed on Hazel waiting for her reply.

"No. I have to get to Ben, I have to warn him if there're more of these things around" Hazel replies in spite of her shock.

The man cocks up his head and says "Listen, do you hear anything?".

"No, there is nothing" Hazel says straining to pick up whatever it is the man wanted her to hear.

"Precisely. It is too late for your friend Ben, but it is not too late for you ... IF you come with me." the man says.

"That's not it. The song's ended, that is all." rebuts Hazel "What's more, you .. you are like them, those creatures .. you even ate them" Hazel says in disgust.

"Yes, I am from the darkness, but I am not of them. I am, as the expression goes ... one of the good guys." The man continues saying with a flourish of his hand.

"How do I know you are not lying?" Hazel asks, directing the mistrust she had for Ben/Locks at the man.

"and how do you know your dear Ben is not lying too?" The man asks, throwing the question back at her.

"Because I finally remember who I am and who he is" replies Hazel defiantly.

The man makes a little sigh and continues saying "You are mistaken. Those memories are a level two cipher. You have just been implanted with yet another layer of deception, in order that you never see the truth."

"What?" says Hazel, shocked at the suggestion that what she just remembered is yet another illusion.

"But if you come with me, I will show you the truth, and when you do, many will be saved." The man says, and stretches out a gloved hand to Hazel.

"I am Destiny. Take the red pill and together we shall see how deep the rabbit hole goes."

*************

Mary turned around when she heard the explosion and saw the bright flash illuminate the whole room. She falls back to the floor at what she sees.

The Toby creature is hanging in mid-air, impaled through it's yawing mouth by a silver lance glowing brightly in the dark room. The other end of the lance is fitted into the arms of a gigantic silver armor which glows just as brightly. In it's other hand is held a large silver shield.

"Claim your judgment, tainted one!" thunders a sonorous voice from the bowels of the armor's helmet. "An eternity you shall have, to chew on it."

The Toby creature lets out a scream and crumbles into nothingness. Like an engine being shut off; the pulsating aura around the armor begins to fade away as it turns around to face the shaken Mary. From the sapphire visor of the helmet shines two fiery beacons. Mary stares at the colossus in dumbstruck awe, one hand on her glasses which had slipped once again.

The armor sheaths the lance on it's back and drops on a knee, planting the shield firmly onto the floor and promptly cracking the marble. It must really weigh a ton.

"I am Fel, guardian of the Heart of Venperlion, and protector of it's true owner" proclaims the silver knight as he picks up the ball which Mary dropped and is now shining brilliantly.

"Hail fair Mary, mistress of the Heart!"